ABUJA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A Nigerian semi-military institution has issued an alert on imminent coordinated attacks by militant groups targeting states across the country, including Abuja, the national capital, in the wake of heightened security threats in the country.

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which issued the alert early this week in a memo, said it has directed the immediate deployment of its personnel to schools, worship centers, and critical national assets to stall possible threats by criminal elements.

The NSCDC memo signed by Dauda Mungadi, a deputy commandant general of operations for the paramilitary agency, was released Monday, according to local media reports Wednesday.

The alert indicated that two major cities, Abuja and Lagos, as well as the northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara, and Katsina, might be targeted by criminal groups.

"We have received credible intelligence that Boko Haram and the ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) groups have mobilized fighters and high caliber weapons, particularly rocket-propelled grenade launchers, anti-aircraft guns, and general purpose machine guns which they intend to deploy for the offensive in Katsina State," the NSCDC said. "In another development, two separate bandit groups are plotting coordinated attacks on northwest, north-central, and southwest."

The most populous African country has been hit by a series of armed attacks this year, which caused the deaths of civilians and security operatives, thereby heightening fears among citizens.

Early this month, an advance team of President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina ran into an ambush laid by unknown gunmen, injuring at least two persons. This was followed by another attack by suspected ISWAP militants on a prison in Abuja, freeing hundreds of inmates.

On Sunday, three military officers were killed while responding to an attack on Nigerian Presidential Guards Brigade by gunmen suspected to be extremist militants in Abuja. Enditem

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